PET STORIES: How Blood Work Saves Lives

October 17, 2009

One of the things that makes The PARC stand out from other vet clinics is our belief that routine blood work is important. So important, in fact, that we strongly recommend it during annual wellness exams and absolutely require it prior to any surgical procedure. Fortunately, with our own in-house lab, we’re able to perform it ourselves in less than 30 minutes.

A blood test gives our doctors a window into your pet’s body. This is crucial because when pets get sick, their natural defensive instincts kick in and they do everything they can to hide their symptoms. Before any anesthetic procedure, our veterinarians will order blood work. Although it adds to the cost of the procedure, the results enable us to understand fully the health status of your pet before anesthetizing him/her. In some cases, we spot problems that need to be dealt with before going forward with the surgery.

That was the case with two patients who were recently scheduled for surgery. Blood work revealed that a 6-month-old Labrador, who was scheduled to be neutered, was anemic. If our doctor had proceeded to surgery without checking his blood, the puppy’s anemic condition would have left him at a heightened risk. Instead, the doctor postponed the surgery and went to work to uncover what was causing his lowered red blood count.

Dr. Nigliazzo was preparing to perform an ovariohysterectomy (spay) on a seemingly healthy 5-month-old puppy. He was surprised when the blood work revealed that this sweet baby had cancer. Although on the surface she appeared healthy, we can only imagine how difficult it would have been for her to endure the surgery and recover smoothly. We postponed her spay and focused on appropriate treatment to help her overcome the disease first.

These are two wonderful examples of how routine blood work helps ensure an underlying issue doesn’t jeopardize your pet during routine surgery.